Tom Hayden, Royal Oak native, University of Michigan graduate and Students for a Democratic Society activist in the 1960s, is donating his papers to the University of Michigan.(Photo: Photo courtesy of Tom Hayden 2012)

One of the leading activists of the 1960s and beyond will house his papers, including his extensive FBI file, at the University of Michigan.

The collection of Tom Hayden's papers will be open to the public, starting in the middle of September.

"Tom was there 'at the creation,' you might say, of '60s protest movements," Howard Brick, the Louis Evans professor of history in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts, said in a news release. Through Hayden's career, "this collection provides evidence of how the dissent of the 1960s had a long-term effect in the social and political life of the U.S."

Hayden, a Royal Oak native and University of Michigan graduate, was a founding member of the Students for a Democratic Society and was the primary drafter of the 1962 manifesto "The Port Huron Statement."

He led a variety of protests on the U-M campus throughout the turbulent decade. He went on to a long career as an activist, politician, educator and author.

"Ann Arbor is really where a new life began for me," Hayden said in a news release about the papers. "So many memories are deeply embedded there.There are so many 'nuggets' in these thousands of pages, and I want to share my interpretations with the young student researchers who will become the future. Perhaps there is more to discover. Listening carefully to each other creates a missing link."

Hayden will visit campus later this month and meet with the staff of the Michigan Daily, where he was editor in 1960-61 and advise students in a seminar group. He also will be involved in a number of public events, including a public reception Sept. 18 to celebrate the collection at the Hatcher Graduate Library.

The collection includes 120 boxes of material, including 10 linear feet of his FBI file. Hayden, along with ex-wife Jane Fonda and folk singer Joan Baez, acquired the documents after successfully suing the federal government for illegal surveillance.

In addition to Students for a Democratic Society, Hayden worked with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. He was a Freedom Rider, a member of the Chicago 8, whose members were indicted for conspiracy in organizing antiwar demonstrations at the 1968 Democratic National Convention, and a founder of the Indochina Peace Campaign and the Campaign for Economic Democracy, among others.

He went on to serve nearly 20 years in the California state legislature, where he chaired labor, higher education and natural resources committees. He is the author of 20 books.